Castiel's Garden
by remusandsnapelover
Summary: Holly said yes to Lucifer, and doesn't believe there is any room for redemption. Castiel shows her a way to give back to what she destroyed. OC character with slight Destiel.


Saying yes to the devil never ended up being a good decision. Then again, why would anyone think it would have been?

Love tended to blind humans in the worst way possible – they gave up everything they had for someone without even a blink of the eye. That's what Holly did. When Lucifer came to her in her dreams, she couldn't help but love him, and all but begged on her knees for Lucifer to take her. She was willing, no matter what the consequences were, to be with him forever.  
>And to be with the devil for forever? What better deal could there be then that? <p>

It turned out that that was one of the stupidest things you could ever do. There was no redemption for giving up your vessel for Lucifer. Holly didn't even really want her body back after Lucifer had been thrown in the cage. She was broken and dead inside; unlikely to ever look in the mirror again without disgust and hatred towards herself. But Castiel thought differently. He had pulled her sorry ass out of the cage in the belief that she deserved redemption. Holly didn't deserve redemption.

At least that's not what she thought.

Castiel taught her that giving back to the Earth was a simple way to say, "I'm sorry. Forgive me." Cas found that he didn't deserve anything either, what with him taking all the souls from Purgatory in. So a forgiving angel and a broken human worked on their separate gardens in Sioux Falls very close to the Singer residence.

Castiel would teach Holly what plants were the best to grow in this location and what time of year was the best to plant. He knew everything from spending months in the dirt, carefully taking care of every plant or vegetable that passed through his hands. Holly wanted to love for the plants as much as Castiel did, for surely that if she loved them enough, they would love her back. Cas seemed to understand this, and guided her every day on how to show them how much she cared.

Holly found that Castiel had already forgiven her what she had done, and it touched her heart so. She hadn't taken care of him or whispered lullabies in his ear like she did in a way to ask for redemption from the plants; but still, he forgave her anyways. And it touched Holly. When she had given up on herself, here was an angel of the lord, right by her side and smiling at her with a fondess that made her heart ache.

The best part about working in the garden was the knowing that Cas would stop by every day and watch quietly as he took to her work. He would often get down on his knees, his trenchcoat sweeping the dirt, and help her tend to the plants until his brows were sweaty and his breathing was frequent. It was all Holly could ask for, that Cas continue to stay with her and never leave. He was her lifeline, and she was scared that if he were to disappear, she would fade into the darkness of Hell.

But just because Castiel had forgiven her, did not mean Dean Winchester did. Cas would sometimes bring Dean along with him over to Holly's, and even though Holly offered him a beer with a smile, all Dean ever did was sit in a chair and drink his beer with a frown on his face. It made Holly want to break down in tears to think that she was a monster in any way. Castiel would notice Holly's quiet behavior and come over to help her plant some new vegetable seeds that he had just purchased from the store. He never said a word, but it was enough for Holly, and he seemed to get it. Only when they were done, would Cas rise up from the ground and walk over to Dean with a fond smile on his face and ask, "Are you ready?" Dean always smiled back – one of those smiles that emitted so much love that it pierced through your soul, and replied with a quiet 'yes'.

Holly could see that Castiel loved Dean, and it made her sad to know that she would never find love like that. Even though Castiel cared about her, it was never a love that was above Dean Winchester. So Holly continued to work quietly in her garden until her eyes were asking her to close them. 

It was early morning when Sam Winchester came to knock on Holly's door. Holly had answered sleepy eyed, only to hear words that she had hoped she would never here. "Me, Cas, and Dean are leaving now to hunt on the road for a while."

When asked how long 'a while' was, she was met with a small sigh and a sad expression from Sam. Holly knew, and she asked Sam quietly if he would take her to Castiel.

That day consisted of Holly crying into Cas's trenchcoat, soaking it with her salty tears and begging him not to leave. When Cas told her that Dean had to hunt something big, and that he wasn't going to leave him alone, Holly broke down in tears. "Cas, you're all I have! Please!"

Castiel let her sob into him the rest of the night.

When she had finally fallen asleep, he carried her home in his arms, lay her in bed and kissed her on the forehead. He smiled into the kiss, watching her as she slept with tear streaked cheeks. "I love you Holly. And you're forgiven."

Holly could hear his words in her sleep, fresh hot tears continuing to run down her face. In the morning, Cas was gone, and Holly didn't know what to do. She sat in her bed for a good hour before getting up and walking over to Castiel's old place. It was deserted of course, but what Holly was looking for was outside.

A vast expanse of flowers blossomed in the sunlight; the vegetables looking good enough to pull of their stems. Holly smiled when she saw a patch of bright orange lilies that she had given Cas as a gift directly in the sunlight, right at the foot of the garden. She intook a breath of air, and looked up at the clear blue sky. "Cas, it's beautiful." She uttered.

Holly finally understood how a garden could bring redemption – it was the giving back to something that you had so brutally destroyed that truly could save her. But it wasn't about redemption right now; it was about taking care of Castiel's garden while he was gone.


End file.
